In modern times it is a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Tripoli, of which it is a municipal unit.[2] Its seat was the village of Nestani (pop. 486 in 2011). It is located in the northeastern part of Arcadia. The municipal unit has a land area of 205.393 km²[3] and a population of 2,114 inhabitants. Its largest other towns are Artemisio, Loukas, and Kapsas.

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The city emerged from the amalgamation of several neighbouring villages around 500 BC.[4] Its patron god was Poseidon. It was a large city with many temples. The fortifications originally were polygonal[5]. One very important was the temple of Artemis Hymnia, just on the north of the city, mentioned by Pausanias[6]. There, Diotima, Socrates philosophy influencer, probably was a priestess. Near the city was the dam of Mantineia, a wonder of ancient technology[7]

It was the place of the First Battle of Mantineia, in 418 BC, which was the largest land battle of the Peloponnesian War. On one side were Sparta and its remaining allies, and on the other were Athens, its allies, plus the cities that had revolted against the Spartans. After the Athenians' commander, Laches, was killed, the battle turned into a rout of the Athenian and allied armies, a result attributed to greater Spartan courage.

Mantineia had been a member of the Peloponnesian League, but during the Peloponnesian War, the city joined Athens. After the war, it was forced to rejoin the Peloponnese. Later, Sparta used the Peace of Antalcidas as a pretext to break Mantineia into its constituent villages. In response, the Mantineans expelled pro-Spartans from the city. After the Spartan defeat at the end of the Corinthian War, Mantineia re-formed into a single city. The fortifications now became almost circular, keeping some parts of the old walls[8].

The Second Battle of Mantinea, in 362 BC, led to the fall of Theban hegemony. In that battle, Athens and Sparta were allied. Thebes won the battle, but its greatest general, Epaminondas, was killed in the fighting.

Macedonian king Antigonus III Doson sacked the city at 223BC. Antigonos handed the city to the Achaeans, which colonized it, under Aratos, and renamed the city to Antigonia[9].

Emperor Hadrian restored Mantineia's name[10]. At 130AD he visited the city and built Antinous' temple, (a person he very much loved, that was sacrificed for him), the newest in the city [11].

Some decades later, probably few years before 166AD[12], Pausanias visited the area and described the ruins and remains of the city at the time in his 8th book[13].

Mountains surround the valley, including the Lyrkeia mountains as well as the Mainalo mountains to the southwest. The valley consists of vineyards, potato and wheat farms, as well as other crops, and covers about half of the municipality. Several floods ravaged Mantineia in the mid-20th century, even to the extent of forming a lake that has since been drained. Forests dominate the mountains. Rocks and grasslands cover most of the northeast.

There was a democracy in place in Mantineia by 420 BC, when Thucydides says that the Mantineans joined an alliance led by Argos because it was a fellow democracy (Thuc. 5.29.1). Aristotle describes an unusual feature of the Mantinean system: officials were elected, not by the people as a whole, but by a special committee selected by the people (Pol. 1318b22-33). For this committee to be selected, the people did have to attend an Assembly of sorts, probably once a year, and there was also a Council (Thuc. 5.47.9), like in other Greek democracies. Officials included damiourgoi (a political role) as well as theoroi (a religious one) and polemarchoi (military).[16] In 385 the Spartans forcibly suppressed the democracy, though it did have a brief revival in the 360s when Mantineia was part of the Arcadian League.[17]

The province of Mantineia (Greek: Επαρχία Μαντινείας) was one of the provinces of the Arcadia Prefecture. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipality Tripoli. Its seat was the town Tripoli.[18] It was abolished in 2006.